Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Today is a Member's Day, and one with a solid slate of first readings. First up is Gareth Hughes' Electricity Industry (Small-Scale Renewable Distributed Generation) Amendment Bill, aimed at giving a fair go to household solar. Following that is Carmel Sepuloni's Social Security (Pathway to Work) Amendment Bill, which does the same for beneficiaries wanting part-time work; based on past votes there might be a majority for that one, though National will likely oppose it because its good for the poor (who should both work and be penalised for doing so, or some such "logic"). Next is James Shaw's Climate Change (Divestment from Fossil Fuels) Bill, which is about insulating government finances from the carbon bubble. Its a prudent measure as well as a strong political statement, so National and its cronies will probably vote it down. Fourth up is Clare Curran's Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Amendment Bill, an utterly mild bill which merely requires that the Minister appoint a Technical Advisory Board to help them understand the complexities of teh internetz and the consequences of the GCSB's demands. That'll be voted down too. Finally, there's Winston Peters' Affordable Healthcare Bill, which contrary to the title is about raising the price of healthcare to new migrants and making them second-class citizens. That one will fail too, but it will be interesting to see whether Labour votes for an explicitly racist measure in the name of snuggling up to Winston's racists.

If all goes according to schedule, there should be a ballot for four bills tomorrow.